Principal's Report

Corpus Christi 

Dear Parents,

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). This is the ultimate feast for our church as it is about the essence of our faith, the celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist, or the Mass, is an act of solidarity with Jesus and with each other. 

Some years ago, when Pope John Paul II went to Lima, Peru, he was met by a massive crowd of two million people. Instead of the usual greetings from the President and the Cardinal, two people from a shanty town stepped up to the microphone. As the huge crowd went quiet, they began to speak to the Pope: “Holy Father, we are hungry, we are sick, we lack work, our children die before their time. Yet, Holy Father, we believe in the God of life. And we hunger for bread.” 

Before the hushed crowd, the Pope replied in his best Spanish: “You tell me you hunger for bread. You tell me you hunger for God. I want this hunger for God to remain; I want your hunger for bread to be satisfied.” The Pope then turned to the generals and the wealthy politicians gathered there and said very bluntly: “I won’t simply say share what you have. I will say give it back! Give it back; it belongs to the poor!” 

The highlight of the Pope’s visit to any country was the celebration of an open-air Mass. Of the celebration of the Eucharist, the Pope wrote: 

“In the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have His sacrifice, we have His resurrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit and His love of the Father. In the humble signs of bread and wine changed into His Body and Blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and enables us to become witnesses of hope.”

Our attention now turns to our Year 4 students and their families as these students prepare for First Holy Communion. This is a very significant milestone in the faith journey of these students and a sign of their commitment to live lives that endeavour to consciously and actively reflect the life and teachings of Christ. 

Digital Transformation

As many parents would be aware our new technology room is up and running with all students having the opportunity to visit this space at least once a week. The feedback from the students, staff and parents has been really positive. The School Board, along with the staff of the school are motivated to make this space ‘exceptional’ and a wonderful learning environment for our students. 

The motivation to create this space was based on the wonderful teaching and learning (pedagogy) practices that is already happening within the classrooms at Infant Jesus School. As a staff, we strive to provide our students with an education that will prepare them for life. 

We believe our learning community fosters confident, independent and life-long learning with an attitude which promotes achievement of the full potential of all individuals in an environment embedded in our Gospel values. 

We utilise technology as a tool to aid our learning and develop critical thinkers who are able to access information and communicate effectively, thereby enhancing their potential as life-long learners. Assessment tasks are explicit and meaningful catering for the children’s varied learning styles and provide diagnostic information for future planning. 

Our staff are dedicated, qualified, innovative professionals who receive ongoing training in current pedagogical practices.

•    They are committed to supporting each child to achieve personal excellence.

•  We provide a nurturing learning environment where students feel happy and safe. 

•    Our students respect themselves and others in a manner which shows acceptance towards all cultures, both within the school and in the wider community.

•    We share a positive relationship and welcome close interactions between the school, parish and local community.

•    We encourage our students to think of others, give service to those in need and foster a spirit of Truth and Justice for all.

•    We acknowledge parents as the first     educators of their children. 

•    We have a strong partnership with each family and encourage their involvement.

•    Our home/school relationships are based upon on-going communication, openness and trust. Parents are supported in understanding their role alongside the school and parish and together we support the child to achieve their potential. 

At Infant Jesus School we believe that the best way to use the Digital Technologies is to put them into the hands of students by providing access to a range of devices and applications. 

Our aspiration is to be

A Leading Learning School 

that provides opportunities for all students, staff and parents to flourish. 

At Infant Jesus School, we are working together as a community that is entirely focused on meeting the contemporary needs of our students, parents, staff and school community in these rapidly changing times.

At Infant Jesus School, we believe in the development of the whole child and that our children must be equipped for the future. We understand that the children of today do not live in the world of yesterday and as such believe in an innovative, curiosity driven education based upon traditional and new pedagogy and understanding. Education of the past was formed during the 18th and 19th centuries but does not equip the child of today with the skills that they need. Today's world promises new educational opportunities where educators can engage directly with student experience and different learning styles to ensure that new technologies empower all children. 

21st Century learning skills are skills that our children need to be able to live in a digital world.

Tomorrow's citizens need to have the ability to solve problems, think creatively and analytically, collaborate, and communicate. They need to have an ethical understanding of the world and be accountable for themselves.  

Innovation is working to create and solve new problems or facing unforeseen challenges head on. Innovation is embracing change and being reluctant to submit to difficulty. Children of today need to learn the skills, knowledge and mental strategies in order to be successful for tomorrow’s world.

After much consideration, the new Innovation & Technology Centre will be called the

'Infant Jesus School i-Lab'.

We feel that this name best suits what we are striving to achieve at our school and in this room. Let me explain! 

i-Hour @ Infant Jesus School

A new initiative at the school called i-Hour has been implemented this term. All students in Year 4 – Year 6 will participate in this program over the course of the year. This initiative will be developed and integrated to encapsulate all aspects of both the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) Curriculum and also part of the Technologies Learning Area (Western Australian Curriculum). We believe that this program will provide challenging and highly motivating learning opportunities for our students, catering for all ability levels, capacity and creative talents.

The program aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to ensure that, individually and collaboratively, students:

•    investigate, design, plan, manage, create and evaluate solutions,

•    are creative, innovative and enterprising when using traditional, contemporary and emerging technologies, and understand how technologies have developed over time,

•    make informed and ethical decisions about the role, impact and use of technologies in the economy, environment and society for a sustainable future,

•    engage confidently with and responsibly select and manipulate appropriate technologies − materials, data, systems, components, tools and equipment − when designing and creating solutions, and to 

•    critique, analyse and evaluate problems, needs or opportunities to identify and create solutions.

i-Hour is coordinated and taught by Miss Mitzi Phoebe in our i-Lab.  In the program, each student in Year 4 - Year 6 will be given the opportunity over the course of the year to participate in an intensive five-week learning block. These sessions will focus on the use of design and computational thinking, technologies and systems to help generate and produce both designed and digital solut

Congratulations

We congratulate Miss Melissa Myles who has been appointed to the position of Acting Assistant Principal for Term 3.  Mr Frank Colangelo and Ms Clare Moffat will both be taking well-deserved Long Service Leave in Term 3 and Melissa will fulfill their roles in their absence. We look forward to working with Melissa and the many gifts and talents she will bring in this capacity next term.

25 Year Anniversary - Infant Jesus Church

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the new Infant Jesus Church. Fr Sunny and the assistant priests, along with the Parish Council and the various active committees within the church are planning for a big celebration to recognise the occasion. Three bishops, including Archbishop Costelloe will be attending the Masses over the weekend of  26 & 27 August.  

As you know, Saturday 19 August is an Infant Jesus School Family Mass. There will be a number of opportunities for our community to be involved, particularly as Friday 25 August is IJ Day!

Further information will be shared with the community closer to the event, but at this stage please mark the days in your calendar.

Prayer for the Week

Give me a kind heart that will endure

One that’s strong and secure

To help someone along the way,

May this be my goal every day.

Let me lend a helping hand

To someone whose life has not gone as planned,

Reaching out to one in need,

May this be my daily good deed,

To provide a guiding light

For someone lost in the dark of night

Let me take time to care

For someone experiencing despair.

Whatever I do,

Everywhere I go,

Your Will, Lord, let me know.

Amen

Three Year Old Kindy Applications

Three-Year-Old Kindergarten at Infant Jesus School is an educational program for Pre-Kindergarten children.  The program at the school is very much play-based and helps the children develop independence and creativity by offering interesting and fun activities, that are developmentally appropriate, in a semi-structured form.  The program follows a routine similar to Kindergarten where the children are in the care of a teacher and a teacher assistant for the education of the session, but parent help is encouraged.

Who May Attend the Program?

The 2018 program is offered to children who would have turned THREE by 30 June 2018 and plan to continue attending Infant Jesus School in 2018 and beyond.  Regulations prevent us from taking children until they have turned three years of age.  Please note that enrolment at the Infant Jesus School Three-Year-Old program does not guarantee a place in the Four Year Old Kindergarten Program. Interviews will be conducted for both places.

Interested parents are asked to contact Mrs Cheryl Macpherson at the school office for enrolment forms for 2018 Three Year Old program.

Interschool Winter Carnival

Today our Year 6 children competed in Football, Soccer and Netball against other schools in our Association. Netball was held at Noranda Netball Courts and Football and Soccer at Carine Open Space. The Year 6 children, from all accounts had a fantastic day.  

Car Park

Parking Restrictions 

Please be aware of the parking restrictions around the school. Adhering to these restrictions keeps all in our community safe. The well-being and safety of all people occurs when following these procedures in a cautious and responsible manner. 

We ask that you please; 

- adhere to the speed restrictions.

- leave the 'Disabled Parking Bay' to be used by people who need it. 

- park sensibly within designated bays. 

- follow and keep the flow of traffic running smoothly. 

- use the school drive throughs at Peter's Place and Russell Street if you would like to drive through and pick up your children. 

- use the church car park and walk down to collect your children. 

We thank you for your assistance and co-operation with this matter. 

God Bless,

Paul Hille

Principal

#ExpectGreatThings